I'm here (Continuation of episode 6x15)
by Persephone-Petrova
Summary: My version of what takes place after the episode ends in the Salvatore house between Bonnie and Damon. Second chapter added by request of reviews.
1. Chapter 1

He dragged himself through the side door of the boarding house- exhausted, saddened, and not nearly as intoxicated as he would have liked. When did his afterlife become so grim? Wasn't the point of eternal existence to never think twice of mortality there after?

Damon found himself reminiscent of the years when nothing mattered at all. He remembered, while dragging his feet into the massive kitchen, why he had turned off his emotions. He could recall the peace of it in this moment. He missed the empty void that came with the lack of empathy for others.

Just then- a familiar scent. Pancake batter and the long missed hint of a particular sweetness assaulted his nose. It was her. He knew it, and his heart rose in his chest even before their eyes met.

"Bonnie?"

Bonnie Bennett's smile was a sight for sore eyes. It was even more for him. He suddenly cherished his ability to feel; this felt like a dream. ... He was afraid of waking up.

"You're back?" He found the words escaping of their own accord.

"In the flesh!" She rushed to respond, before running to a leap off the tile and into his arms.

Damon held her tight to himself as they spun about for a moment in sheer happiness. He couldn't believe this was real. That her first stop back in reality would be to see him. His grip tightened around her back. She was real.

Finally, they parted from one another, Damon releasing her to her feet. They continued to stare in silence for how long? Damon lost track. Eventually, Bonnie walked back to the stove, turning the heat off the burner.

"This ... just feels surreal. So surreal. Being able to talk to someone other than a camcorder, finally. I mean - I don't even remember how fake pleasantries work anymore. I guess that's a reason to be glad I am seeing you first."

He could tell that she was different. She had changed even since when they had been trapped. The bags under Bonnie's eyes told a story all on their own of her struggle to return home. Damon didn't know how to begin to ask about the hell she must have endured to finally break out.

Bonnie continued, "at least I don't have to be strong in front of you. ... I'm a little tired for a pat on the back just yet. Too tired to be 'super witch' who made it out against all odds, or whatever title I will be congratulated with"

Damon's brow furrowed in response to her confession. She was different. He knew if she ever came home that she would be. After all, he was a vampire and the experience stole a part of who he was forever as well. And Bonnie? She was just a girl...

"Well don't let me stop you from getting some much deserved shut eye Bon Bon. Everyone is going to be thrilled you're here; but they should be thrilled when you are able to enjoy the reunion as much as them."

He stepped nearer to the island that divided them.

"Some things have happened here Bonnie. A lot actually... but that recap is for tomorrow. I'm pretty sure that I'll be the only vampire sleeping here tonight. Stefan and Elena have their hands full with something else, and it's late. Pick a room, sleep. Take a day or so to feel like yourself again. I won't say a word until you're ready to be back..."

Her familiar, yet distant smile reflected to him that she was thankful and that she accepted his offer. He reached over the counter for her hand, and while he held it for a moment, his eyes assured her that the worst was over now. She was safe here, with him. Bonnie didn't have to be strong tonight. She wasn't alone.

...

Upstairs, in one of the many vacant rooms of the Salvatore Boarding house; Bonnie stepped out of a hot shower. Steam filled the air, fog blurred her reflection. Bonnie sensed that more was fogging her reflection than merely the remnants of the shower, but that was for another day as well. Tonight she planned to comb out her hair and pass out in the silk sheets of her King sized bed.

Pleased with that plan, Bonnie turned out the light switch as she neared her resting spot and collapsed into the covers. She rolled onto her side, and stared at the hallway light that shone from under the door frame. It had been a while since someone other than herself was responsible for turning out lights in the house. Bonnie sighed, attempting to forget that nightmare.

…..

Damon heard her from his chair in the parlor- walking around the room right above him and then... silence. He couldn't shake a nagging urge to check on her before he could relax into his tall glass of bourbon. She hadn't just returned from summer camp. She clawed her way back from solitary confinement.

He crept upstairs, stood directly in front of her door. He couldn't knock. He couldn't turn the knob either... Damon just wanted her to know she wasn't alone. Then,

"Damon? Is there some reason you're shifting your feet in front of the door?"

Her sleep deprived voice pondered the inquiry loud enough for Damon's fine hearing to catch clearly. He smirked to himself, shaking his head. He had missed her.

"Oh well, you know, it gets a little damp in these old Gothic looking mansions on occasion. It's an drafty place.."

Damon began to defend his stalking, as he inched closer to her bed.

"I wanted to make sure you didn't need an extra blanket, or maybe a shot. Whatever your choice for additional warmth"

Bonnie remained as she was before he entered, side laying and tucked into the sheets facing him. She felt too lethargic to care that he was watching her in an exposed state of jammies.

"I feel quite warm tucked in here Damon and I know that you are just checking up on me. If I wanted to commit suicide or something along those lines, I had plenty of opportunity before coming back. You don't have to be worried."

"Come on, I think higher than that of you Bonnie. Not why I came upstairs.."

"Then why did you?" She interjected before he could roll out another trademark Damon excuse.

He was caught off guard by her interest.

"I guess I just wanted to see you again. Talk. Make sure you weren't going to disappear into some other plane of existence again."

Damon laughed for a second, amused by himself- with his classic half smile that made him irresistibly attractive.

"I'm right here." Bonnie assured him, with a small smile of her own before continuing,

"Look, Damon... I know that we have a lot to talk about in the morning. Like how happy Elena must have been to get you back for example..."

Damon wasn't sure where she was going, but he sat on the edge of the bed in front of her tucked legs while she continued to speak. "That's quite a story all by itself actually," He began to rub the back of his neck.

Bonnie shifted her body up in the bed to look at him head on.

"Seeing your face was a big part of coming home for me Damon. I can't exactly explain why, I'm not sure I know. I just knew I'd be alright if I could find you again, because we were alright together. We survived."

She trailed off in speaking, what she wanted to say just wasn't coming out the right way. What was she trying to say anyway? God, this was insane.

"I need to know if you felt that at all. Before tomorrow when reality sets in, and we go back to being frienemies... I know that it will always be her. She's my best friend, she deserves you. But I have to know. Did you miss me at all in the way that I missed you? Am I crazy for wanting to kiss you right now? Tell me if I am..."

Damon's blue eyes were burning into her hazel ones in that moment. His lips were parted but silent. He stared into her with such emotion, she felt her breath catch. He felt it.

Bonnie leaned forward and he met her with his lips. They kissed fiercely, yet he felt every curve of her soft lips as his own crashed down on them in a rush of passion and need. His tongue grazed her bottom lip and she widened her kiss to allow him entrance into her mouth. His kiss was ice and fire at the same time.

Her lower body followed suit to their heated make out, and as her cotton shorts began to moisten Bonnie could swear she felt Damon's hold on her tighten.

Not before long, Bonnie had Damon's shirt on the floor. She unbuckled his black pants while staring into his eyes. They needed each-other in this moment, not just for pleasure but for closure to everything that no one else would understand.

He knelt into the bed next to her, naked, aroused- and he kissed her neck down to her collar bone. With one hand he slid the straps of her tank top low enough to expose her bare breasts, and his lips trailed down to one nipple. As he nipped and suckled at Bonnie's chest, he noticed her hips gyrating beyond her control underneath him. Using his free hand, Damon slid it down her flat lower stomach and into the waist of her cotton shorts.

She hadn't bothered to wear panties, which he assumed was because she didn't want to borrow a pair from her friend, and that made it all the easier for him to reach his goal. Bonnie moaned while he used his index finger to rub her wet bundle of nerves just inside of her dripping lips. The faster his pace got, the hotter Bonnie became, until she ached for him to be inside.

"Ugh... oh Damon... please. Please."

Damon used a second finger now to trace the line of her slit while he continued assaulting her breast with his tongue. He was going to enjoy every second of touching her.

"Tell me Bonnie. I want to hear you tell me what you want me to do."

Her face flushed, as Bonnie had only experienced Jeremy in a sexual way, and it wasn't the most vocal in dirty talk. She wanted him badly though. And that's what took over.

"Ugh, ughhhhh! Damon ...I want you inside of me. I want to feel your cock slam until you burst-"

Before she was half done with his request, Damon had positioned himself between her thighs, his head at her core. The heat from her pussy was taunting, begging for his intrusion. He rubbed his hard shaft up and down her a few more times to increase her desire if that were possible; then once he was soaked with her need, he thrust into her.

"UGHH!" She squealed, feeling her walls stretch beyond anything she had ever felt as he pressed into her heat.

Damon thrust hard and deep each time, he pulled her hips off of the mattress and into his grasp to get a better hold of her. He watched as Bonnie's breasts bounced with every hump, she wrapped her mocha toned legs around his pale body in an attempt for more depth.

"Don't close your eyes...don't" he commanded. **THRUST ** "you" **THRUST **"dare"

Bonnie focused on Damon alone, on his abs, on his happy trail down to where their hips met in a rhythm of fucking that she couldn't take much more of.

"I want you to remember this. Me and you like this. I've, ug! Wanted you for a long time Bonnie. ugg!"

Bonnie moaned his name repeatedly as he fucked her at vampire speed; but just as he began to feel her walls clench around him in orgasm- Damon flipped her onto her knees parting her ass cheeks for his dark eyes to feast upon. Bonnie turned her head to look him in the face, and with one swift slap Damon had spanked her right cheek as to teach her who was in control.

Enjoying his playful side, Bonnie wriggled her ass from side to side before him, and that further encouraged his spanking. One slap, then two, three, faster and harder until instead of his hand coming down on her blushed bottom, Damon plunged his throbbing prick deep inside of her core.

"You like that Bon? ...ugh, do you?" He screwed her from behind relentlessly, holding her hips in the position he wanted, with random smacks as he saw fit. He fucked Bonnie like a rag doll, and he could tell she was loving it. Her pussy dripped down his balls, and her moans no longer sounded human. Thrust. Thrust. Thrust!

"I asked you a question..." he paused his thrusting, and she let out a whimper as he stopped.

"Yes Damon. I like the way you screw me", she answered in a sharp tongue...

He smirked; kissing down her spine- knowing that it would make her quiver, before placing his index finger into her mouth. "Suck this, like you mean it Bonnie." He prompted her. Bonnie eagerly licked, lapped, and sucked Damon's finger to the back of her throat; pleased with herself because she could feel his dick throb inside her with impatience.

Just when he began moving his hips forward again into Bonnie's cunt at a steady rate, he suddenly pulled his hand from her warm mouth, and rammed the slick digit into her virgin hole. Bonnie Bennett saw stars. It burned, stretched, and felt so good...

"FUCK! Damon, that's my-" she screamed in both pain, embarrassment, and pleasure.

"Oh you love my finger here... admit it. No one's ever had the balls before me!" he spat back at her, shoving his finger in and out and making circular motions all while fucking her pussy raw.

"UGH UGH UGH" Her moans grew so loud, Damon prayed that no one else came near the boarding house for fear they'd think she was being murdered.

"Come with me Bonnie. I want us to come together" He breathed out in a raspy voice while keeping a fast thrust going.

She extended her neck up to kiss him deeply, and as he bent forward, his cock rubbed her as deep as it could inside of her, his index finger lost inside of her asshole. The two of them both opened their eyes, and with one final thrust Damon felt her walls spasm all around him. She was milking his dick and he couldn't hold out for another second. He pulled out of Bonnie, pushed her back flat on the mattress so she was staring up at him, exhausted- and his prick ached above her.

Without hesitation, she understood what he wanted. He partially came inside of her, but he wanted to finish on her. "Come on me. All over..." Bonnie laid back, spread her legs- mouth opened as well. That was it for him.. Damon sprayed white cum on her shaved pussy, in a line up between her perfectly aroused breasts. He rubbed the head of his cock against her peaked nipples, leaving them cold with wetness left over, and finally he finished splurging all over her eager mouth. She was eager too.

She lapped at his cum like it was water, and sucked his length for moments after, just to ensure she got every drop.

Both of them exhausted, they crashed down on the bed beside one another, silent, but happy. Damon closed his eyes in pure relaxation, he had never had that kind of passion before with anyone- not even Elena. He knew this wouldn't be allowed to happen though- even if Bonnie cared for him in the same way. No one would understand it. Damon decided to keep the feelings he was having to himself- just allow her to think he drifted off to sleep. Tomorrow they would follow the plan and both forget about tonight. He had to turn it off.

Bonnie opened her eyes, and looked in his direction. He was asleep, and he looked truly at rest. She smiled at him, rubbed her thigh gently against his, and whispered a secret that she could never tell him in a wakeful state of mind.

"I love you. ...I've loved you for some time Damon." With that, Bonnie drifted into a wonderful sleep, while a tear streamed down Damon's cheek. He loved her too; but it had become morning somehow, and that meant it was time to return to reality.


	2. Chapter 2

There hadn't been much sleep for Damon the rest of that morning. Somehow he managed to have gotten an hour in though because as he awoke to the brunette at his side, for the briefest of moments the eldest Salvatore brother felt …happy.

An exposed shoulder peaked from beneath the sheets on her side of the bed. He caught himself studying her in a way that he never had before throughout their history together. She was _very_ pretty. Powerful, and sexy in a darker way than anyone- including himself could have realized before now. Perhaps it was because she had to become darker in her journey for survival.

"Is it morning?"

She trailed off, looking at the gray sky through raindrop spattered glass. Another smile crept across her lips. It had been more than a couple of months since Bonnie witnessed the start of a fresh new day. The storm outside was a most refreshing change in weather, that she had missed.

"It is… 11:49 to be exact, so almost afternoon." Damon pulled his pants on- still sheet covered, before rushing to gather his other garments.

"Try looking a little less excited to see rain though for future reference. It sends out a whole depressed, angst ridden vibe that someone less understanding of why, may accuse you of being."

Bonnie shifted her expression to one of un-enthusiasm before rolling her eyes.

"What? Just a helpful tip for your re adjustment…" He smiled.

It was more than apparent that Damon was hurrying to leave, and of course to irritate her would aid the process. Clearly, to discuss their session from last night was not on his agenda and honestly what would there have been to say? Whatever happened, it was over with. Whatever was felt, had to be ignored. Bonnie's thoughts raced ahead before she could catch up.

_Then, why was she so irritated by his expedited behavior?_

A now fully clothed Damon stood at her side of the bed. When he began to lean down before her, she fixed the sheets around herself uncomfortably as to keep what smidgen of pride that remained left intact. With a satisfied smirk, he placed a hesitant and soft kiss down upon of her naturally pink lips.

She wasn't expecting such an intimate gesture, based off of the record breaking time it took for him to re-dress himself. Regardless, she returned his kiss with pleasure. But it was also with fear. Bonnie was no longer afraid of Damon the vampire in the way she had been for many years. This was a fear far worse, and an unfamiliar feeling for the young witch. She was afraid to kiss him back because she knew that it would break her heart once he pulled away. And it did.

"About everything we did here", Damon began without really knowing what to say next

"-Forget it." She cut him off.

"Nothing's changed Damon." Her words were a little too quick, and he heard it.

He was certain that his facial expression told of disappointment as she spoke, but he composed his feelings and buried them down deep, as only he could; before nodding in complete agreement. It was for the best this way. … Though, he wasn't so certain of that now.

An intrusive buzzing sound arose from his pocket, the annoyance snapping them both back to real time. Damon fumbled to see his **fifth** missed call from Elena across the screen.

"Damn it."

Again, the buzz began in his hand. Damon hit 'answer' without another thought.

"Elena, hi. I uh, just found my phone…"

Bonnie felt extremely uncomfortable now. She hurried out of bed, grabbing Elena's scant pajama set she had borrowed from the wood floor as she rushed into the shower room. She was disgusted with herself for doing this to Elena. This wasn't the sort of person she was capable of being. She wasn't Katherine Pierce, or Caroline Forbes. She was better than sneaking a night in with her best friend's partner.

Back in the bedroom Damon continued to lie, "-it must have still been on silent from the funeral, I just saw your missed calls now… are you alright? How is Caroline holding out?"

Bonnie closed the door so that he could have privacy to speak with her. This was only the second time she heard Elena's voice in months. The last thing she wanted to listen to was Damon lying to it, even if it was out of necessity.

_He certainly is an award winning liar. _She noted.

The shower sprung to life, drowning out the dialogue from the other room. Her hand maneuvered the faucet towards its hottest setting and she stepped beneath the stream. More than anything, Bonnie hoped to rinse her feelings for him away in the cascading water. She scrubbed at her skin ferociously- guilt and anger boiling to the surface from deep within. Had she transformed so drastically in her solitude that she morphed into this monster of a human being?

Sobs erupted from Bonnie's mouth. Her body sank to the floor of the shower, engulfed by the bellowing steam. She held her legs tight to herself and continued to cry into them. The guilt seemed worse for her to deal with than being trapped in the prison world had been. It may have been simpler to handle for her, had she not cared for Damon at all. If he were just a one-time mistake.

Had that been the case, Bonnie could see herself erasing last night from memory with ease; never putting thought to it ever again. The problem was that she allowed herself to fall in love with the heroic Salvatore brother. She had allowed it a long time ago, and it was enabling her from completing this charade.


	3. Chapter 3

The remainder of the afternoon was spent by Bonnie hiding inside of the massive, empty Salvatore house in somewhat of a trance. Pacing the wooden floors of this house had become a therapeutic habit during her seclusion, and evidently it still was.

She lost track of the hours as they drifted by until nightfall approached. She thought in desperation of just how much she wanted to walk out the front door and see what the rest of the world was up to. She should locate Jeremy, whom she could feel was no longer residing in Mystic Falls, nor anywhere else nearby. Assure him that she's alive. She should go to Caroline's house, try to teach her to be strong while she is healing, and remind her that with inner strength it is possible to trace her way back from despair.

_That_ particular thought left Bonnie grounded just as she was, standing alone on the wood floor of that damp, old house. She changed her mind. It wasn't time for her to move forward yet. How was she going to be there for her friends, when she remained somewhat broken still, in her core?

She would not lie to her friend who was mourning her Mother. Tell her that with enough inner strength anything was possible. Because, it wasn't possible to come back from the depths of hell and remain unchanged. Truth be told, Bonnie was just as damaged as Caroline. Perhaps even more.

_ Bonnie recalled flashbacks of Kai's torment. The way that they would creep inside of her thoughts at very inconvenient times after she was all alone, abandoned in 1994; causing her to feel powerless. Even now the memory of him attacking her caused her to feel very much alone._

One by one, every light bulb in the hallway shattered to pieces, falling on the floor all around herself and the entire floor upstairs until only the moon light shone in from the windows. There she stood, frozen in the darkness while her emotions got the better of her.

Bonnie forced herself to block out the fear and anger that so haunted her whenever it was too quiet, and she slowed down her breathing. Shut her eyes. Once free of the stressful recollection, she regained control of herself and her power within. Candle light fire flickered before her vision from various walls and table tops up and down the long corridor in front and behind her.

As thrilled as she was to have had her magic once more- and she certainly was thrilled; the rush of power engulfed her every fiber on unannounced whims, was something that she still hadn't yet adjusted to. Her magic felt like no power she'd ever been gifted with before. It felt like no force she had attempted to control on her own…and she suspected that it was potentially stronger than even _Expression_ had been.

Bonnie suspected that if she learned to project enough of her emotions in one direction at a time, that there might not be any immortal creature or enemy that could challenge her in this life. The young Witch smiled, walking down the dimly lit staircase as that realization occurred to her for the very first time. She would never again be a victim to anyone.. And she wasn't afraid anymore.

...

Damon had chosen to accept the chance to leave that morning once he heard the shower turned on by Bonnie, and the bathroom door click shut behind her. There wasn't anything he could say that would have made either one of the two lovers feel better about their deception, nor did he want to apologize for the fact that it happened. … His experience with her was not one soon to be forgotten. So Damon did what had to be done. He was the asshole who left her there without another word, and felt it was for the best to continue living his life as if Bonnie hadn't come crashing back into it. She wasn't ready to be back yet anyway.

Rather fortunately for him, Elena suspected nothing at all other than what he had explained happened with his phone not being available the night before, and he knew that the last thing she would ever question about him was his loyalty. Besides, she was far more pre occupied with her neck getting snapped by emotion-less Caroline Forbes.

All afternoon her, and Stefan were hunting down the "conscious free" blonde vampire and to Damon, the least he could do was lend a hand this evening. After all, he had made a promise to his friend, the Sheriff that he'd protect Caroline as much as he could after she was gone.

The pale Salvatore shook his dark head back and forth partially in disbelief of what a mess their lives had become in so short time, but also due to the weight of his guilty conscience. His unkempt hair blew in the wind as he approached The Grill in his convertible from Stefan. _How badly things have spiraled downwards since Sheriff Forbes passed on_. Damon could feel himself actually hoping that Liz wasn't able to see how screwed up things were for those left living in her absence.

...

Elena stood outside The Grill awaiting Damon's arrival when his car approached in perfect timing. Phone held to her ear and eye brows in full furrow, she used her free hand to open the car door to slide inside while still continuing to panic with his little brother.

"I've checked everywhere Stefan. Her things are gone from the house, and no one at the grill has seen her since last night."

The brunette vampire slid further in the passenger seat next to Damon, reached and grabbed his hand within her own as to signify her happiness just to see him. Despite recent drama, he was her silver lining and she loved him for always being there for her. Elena hung up with Stefan shortly thereafter, sighing heavily as she did so.

"He is in complete denial if he thinks she would knock me out without a care in the world and still have her emotions intact today. You know she has to have flipped by now right?"

"Well. Stefan is an optimist. You of all people know the lengths of his denial mechanisms"

Elena gave him a playfully annoyed glance while he continued,

"...Especially when he loves someone."

The vampire smiled and nodded, both of them knowing that he does truly feel for Caroline, and that it is the one reason he's hoping for the best as hope seems lost. She laced her fingers between his own on the leather interior between them, moving her thumb back and forth over the back of his hand.

"...All I know is that I am in desperate need of a shower, a change of clothing, and 15 minutes alone with you before I continue the hunt for my blood thirsty best friend. Interested? "

"Ouch, 15 minutes? I know the lack of memory is still an issue at play here, but don't insult me."

The pair laughed in unison, her brown eyes melting into his icy blue. She could still make him forget about everything else in the world when she was near him.

_Well, almost anything that was. _

He removed his hand from Elena's, and placed it on the steering wheel with the other. When his eyes returned to the road, Bonnie's face appeared clear as daylight in his mind. Her laugh, her sarcasm. Her big white smile as she wrapped her arms around him in the kitchen the night before. He loved them both in that second.

Damon was also smart enough to know that because of this- inevitably, it meant he was going to lose them both. He was being selfish, and unfair in his urge to keep both wonderful women for himself. In reality, he didn't even deserve to have either of their affections.

…..

They pulled up the driveway to the boarding house, Elena hurrying to get out of the car before it was even put into "park", with a seductive and flirtatious grin upon her lips. But he held her arm back to himself- unable to lie to her about Bonnie a second longer..

"Elena. There's something that I need to tell you"

He started what he knew would be one of the most difficult confessions he would ever have to make.

But- without fully listening to Damon, or what he was trying to get at, Elena pulled her arm away from him in an instant. She sprinted at vampire speed from the old blue convertible towards the wet front lawn of his house. Still seated in the driver's seat, Damon squinted into the dark lawn where she disappeared, only to hear his girlfriend squeal in happiness just inside the boarding house front door.

With that sound, Damon knew that the two best friends were reunited again and that things were about to get a lot more complicated for all of them here on out. But for now, he hoped that they could simply enjoy this moment with each other. Bonnie and Elena deserved to be happy after the hell that they both went through this past year. They were finally back together; _at last_.

"Damon, get in here! …. **IT'S BONNIE**!" Pure joy radiated from her sweet voice, as Elena called for him to come and welcome their long lost friend.

...


End file.
